Apparatus for the after-treatment of exposed sheet material

ABSTRACT

An apparatus for the after-treatment of exposed sheet material comprising a trough, a tiltable perforated feed table mounted above said trough, a working table adjoining said feed table, and a developing container positioned laterally below the feed table and being inclined with respect to the horizontal.

United States Patent Fick [451 Aug. 22, 1972 1541 APPARATUS FOR THEAFIER- [56] References Cited TREATMENT OF EXPOSED SHEET v UNITED STATESPATENTS MATERML 3,555,990 1/1971 Dittman et al ..95/95 Inventor: HerbertFick, g fl- Carin- 3,528,358 9/1970 Pickard ..95/89 R Statt, Germany2,902,914 9/1959 Dye et a1 ..-...95 89 R x 3,418,913 12/1968 Snarr..95/94 R [731 Assgnee' g 'z g ggfi 2,877,700 3/1959 Keller ..95/97 Y3,166,999 l/1965 Dement ..95/98 x 22 Filed: Nov. 9, 1970 3,334,5678/1967 Benson ..95/5

[21] Appl' No: 87734 Primary ExaminerSamuel S. Matthews AssistantExaminer-Fred L. Braun 301 Foreign Application Priority DataAttorney-1911198 Bryan NOV. 12, 1969 Germany ..P 19 56 840.2 57 ABSTRACT52 us. (:1 ..95/89 R, 118/425, 134/134 M aigparams after-treatment ofexposed Sheet 51 Int. Cl ..G03d 3/10 mammal 9 8 9 Unable Perforated [58]Field of Search ..95/89 R, 89 F, 95, 96, 97, feed Said trough, a able95/98, 99; ll8/425; l34/l34' adjoining said feed table, and a developingcontainer positioned laterally below the feed table and being inclinedwith respect to the horizontal.

12 Clains, 1 Drawing Figure APPARATUS FOR THE AFTER-TREATMENT OF EXPOSEDSHEET MATERIAL This invention relates to an apparatus for developing,rinsing, correcting, and, if desired, fixing exposed sheet material.

It is known to develop exposed sheet material, e.g. printing plates, incontainers. Such a container generally has the form of a vertical orslightly inclined narrow trough into which a plateholder is manually ormechanically introduced and, after a certain developing time, removedagain. Such containers permit the performance of developing as animmersion process and thus undoubtedly represent an improvement overconventional apparatus in which the developer liquid is applied to theplate manually be means of a sponge or the like. Plates are difiicult tohandle at larger plate sizes and, furthermore, there is the disadvantagethat rinsing off the excessive developer and the subsequent correctingtreatment must be performed bymeans of separate devices, which requiresadditional conveying operations.

In order to overcome this drawback, automatic developing devices havebeen constructed in which the exposed plates are laid onto a conveyingbelt which conveys them past rotating brushes applying the developer,then to rinsing and drying stations, then to the correcting table and,if desired, to further aftertreatment stations, e.g. a fixing station.Such machines, however, have not found practical use, primarily becauseof their high price, but also because of their large size and their highdeveloper consumption, resulting from the relatively rapid oxidativedecomposition due to foaming at the brushes.

The present invention provides an apparatus by means of which thetreatment steps can be performed as economically as possible, with aslittle space as possible, and with as little effort as possible.

In accordance with the invention, this is achieved by an apparatus forthe after-treatment of exposed sheet material which includes a troughcovered by a fixable, perforated feeding table tiltable about a point ofrotation, a laterally adjoining working table, and a developingcontainer arranged laterally beneath the feeding table and inclined atan angle with respect to the horizontal.

The feeding table, working table, and developing container preferablyare so arranged that the feeding table in the horizontal position is inalignment with the working table and, in the tilted position, inalignment with the container. In this case, it is sufficient to providearresting means only for the two end positions of the feeding table,e.g. in the form of a rod arranged in the trough and a hinged support atthe bottom side of the feeding table.

Occasionally, e.g. in the treatment of thin material having a saggingtendency, it may be of advantage to select the tipping angle for thefeeding table smaller than the inclination angle of the developingcontainer. Under certain circumstances, the end of the plate to bedeveloped is even bent to such an extent when leaving the feeding tablethat, for easy immersion of the plate into the container, the feedingtable need not be tilted at all.

In a preferred, particularly compact construction, the developingcontainer is so arranged beneath the working table that working in twoplanes is assured. Wherever it is recommended for the working operation,the container, of course, also may be placed on the side of the feedingtable away from the working table.

For the angle at which the container is inclined with respect to thehorizontal, values between 10 and 25, particularly between 12 and 18,have proved suitable.

The interior of the container preferably is provided with a movablesupport onto which the plate to be developed is placed and by means ofwhich it is kept at a sufiicient distance from the container wallsduring development. For this purpose, the support may be guided inrails, for example, and/or may be provided with spacers. Furthermore,the upper end of the support advantageously is provided with a handlewhich is not immersed in the developing liquid and by means of which thesupport can be lifted out of the container after the time of developing;in this manner, the plate can be gripped outside the developer liquidand removed from the bath in a simple and clean manner.

Introducing the plate into the container, removing it therefrom, passingit onto the perforated feeding table, and therefrom onto the workingtable, in the simplest case, may be performed manually; this is evenpossible in the case of large plate sizes without excessive expenditureof force since the container is only slightly inclined with respect tothe horizontal. However, gripping devices and mechanical moving meansmay be employed which permit the mechanical performance of theindividual conveying steps.

If the container is to be kept closed during the developing process orin the unused but filled state, the upper end thereof is provided with acover which may be arranged, e.g., at the bottom of the container and isof such a shape that it is kept closed by a steplike slightly angularlateral projection of the feeding table in the horizontal position. Itis swung open by the tipping thereof, by means of its own weight, and isso placed into the steplike projection of the feeding table that asmooth transition between the feeding table and the plateholder in thecontainer is assured.

In a preferred embodiment, the container is furthermore provided with alower outlet for the developing liquid, which is connected with a pump.This pump may be either placed beneath the container or elsewhere andpermits complete removal of the depleted developing solution from thecontainer also in those cases where an outlet above the discharge levelis to be used. When using a pump which can be changed from suetion topressure operation, it is possible, of course, to also pass freshdeveloper solution through the outlet and to dispense with filling fromabove.

In the interest of a working procedure occupying as little space aspossible, it has proved advantageous to provide the trough with arinsing device which, for example, may be a hand spraying device. Itserves for washing away the developer solution superficially adhering tothe plate after removal from the container, and it serves also forcleaning a plate which was subjected on the working table to furthertreatments, e.g. to fixation often usual after development, or toproviding it with a protective color. The washing steps are bestperformed while the plate lies on the perforated feeding. table in thehorizontal position so that the washing water flows off through thepreferably circular or slitrshaped perforations.

It is of advantage to provide the trough at the bottom or'atanothersuitable place with a discharge aperture so that the washing liquor doesnot accumulate in the interior of the trough but flows off or, ifrequired, can be pumped off.

On the working table, the correction of the plate is particularlyperformed. If desired, there may be a curtain between the feeding tableand the working table which prevents sprinkling of the working table bythe washing device. 1 A

In another embodiment of the apparatus of the infvention, the workingtable is provided with a movable tion.

A trough 1 provided with a discharge aperture 16, a water connection 18,and a rinsing device 17 connected therewith'has a cover consisting of afixable, perforated feeding table 3 tiltable about a point of rotation2. Laterally adjoining this table, there is a working table 19, having amovable arm support 20. The feeda ing table 3 has a steplike slightlyangular lateral projection 4. The arresting means of the feeding table 3are the rod 5 in the trough as well as the hinged support 6 at thebottom of the feeding table. Beneath the working table 19, there is adeveloping container 7 tilted through an angle a with respect to thehorizontal, which container is provided with a cover 8 and an outlet 14for the developer solution 13. The interior of the container contains anexposed plate 12 on a movable support 9 which is conveyed by spacers l0and 10 and has a handle 11 at its upper end. The outlet is connectedwith a pump 15 for replenishing the developer solution.

In the simplest case, the working procedure with the use of thisapparatus is as follows: The exposed plate 12 is placed onto theperforated feeding table 3 in the horizontal position and, after thetipping thereof and a simultaneous swinging open of the cover 8,conveyed onto the support 9 which is in the container 7 provided withthe developer solution 13. As soon as the plate has passed the cover,the latter is closed by returning the feeding table into the horizontalposition. After the desired developing period, the cover is opened, byagain tipping the feeding table, and the support is removed from thecontainer to such an extent that the plate placed thereon can be drawnout and onto the feeding table. After the feeding table has beenreturned to the horizontal position, the developed plate is rinsed, thedesired further treatments, of the plate are performed, and the plate ispushed onto the working table 19 for correction.

The apparatus of the invention, of course, is not limited to thisembodiment. If desired, it is particularly possible without greatexpenditure to add a fixing station to the working stations. This may beperformed,

working table, which is likewise slightly inclined and receives theplate after the correcting treatment. It is also possible, however, thatsuch a container is so arranged that it is beneath the developingcontainer or symmetrical thereto on the other side of the perforatedfeeding table which, in this case, must be tiltable in both directions.Also a device suitable for drying the developed and rinsed or thecompletely fixed plate, such as a warm air blower device, of course,may. be provided in the zone of the trough, if it is desired in theindividual case.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that many modificationsmay be made within, the scopeof the present invention without departingfrom the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all suchmodifications.

What is claimed is: Y

1. An apparatus for the after-treatment of exposed sheet materialcomprising a trough, a tiltable perforated feed table mounted in saidtrough, a working table adjoining said feed table, and a developingcontainer positioned laterally below the feed table and being inclinedwith respect to the horizontal, said feed table in the horizontalposition being in alignment with the working table and, in the tiltedposition, being in alignment with the developing container.

2. Apparatus according to claimcl in which the i developing container ispositioned beneath the working table.

3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the developing container isinclined at an angle between 10 and 25.

4. Apparatus according go claim 1 in which the developing container isprovided with removable sup- I porting means for the exposed sheetmaterial.

5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the supporting means has ahandle at the upper end thereof and spacers on the bottom thereof.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1' in which the developing container hasan outlet for developer solu-' tion and a pivotally mounted cover. l

7. An apparatus according to claim 6 in which the feed table has asteplike, slightly angular projection thereon for receiving thepivotally mounted cover.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6 including pump means connected tothe outlet.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 including rinsing.

1. An apparatus for the after-treatment of exposed sheet materialcomprising a trough, a tiltable perforated feed table mounted in saidtrough, a working table adjoining said feed table, and a deveLopingcontainer positioned laterally below the feed table and being inclinedwith respect to the horizontal, said feed table in the horizontalposition being in alignment with the working table and, in the tiltedposition, being in alignment with the developing container.
 2. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 in which the developing container is positionedbeneath the working table.
 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 in whichthe developing container is inclined at an angle between 10* and 25* .4. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the developing container isprovided with removable supporting means for the exposed sheet material.5. Apparatus according to claim 4 in which the supporting means has ahandle at the upper end thereof and spacers on the bottom thereof. 6.Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the developing container has anoutlet for developer solution and a pivotally mounted cover.
 7. Anapparatus according to claim 6 in which the feed table has a steplike,slightly angular projection thereon for receiving the pivotally mountedcover.
 8. An apparatus according to claim 6 including pump meansconnected to the outlet.
 9. Apparatus according to claim 1 includingrinsing means positioned adjacent said trough.
 10. Apparatus accordingto claim 1 including discharge means at the bottom of said trough. 11.Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the working table has a lateralmovable arm support.
 12. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which theworking table is inclinable.